Marnes de Dives | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Late | |
Type | Geological formation |
Underlies | Marnes de Villers |
Thickness | 8–10 metres (30–30 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Marl |
Other | Limestone |
Location | |
Region | Normandy |
Country | France |
Extent | Paris Basin |
Type section | |
Named for | Dives-sur-Mer |
The Marnes de Dives is a geological formation in Normandy, France. It dates back to the upper part of the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic. [1] And is partially equivalent to the Oxford Clay in England. It predominantly consists of ooidal marl, rich in pyrite and lignite, interbedded with thin limestone horizons. [2] It is best exposed at the base of the Falaises des Vaches Noires (Cliffs of Black Cows) as well as the foreshore at low tide. It is known for its fossils, notably those of ammonites, marine crocodiles and fragmentary remains of dinosaurs, mostly theropods.
Dinosaurs of the Marnes de Dives | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Presence | Description | Images | |
Piveteausaurus [1] | P. divesensis | Vaches Noires | Braincase. [3] | ||
Streptospondylus | S. altdorfensis | Vaches Noires [4] | Megalosaurid dinosaur. Originally a chimera of dinosaur and marine crocodile material. redefined to solely refer to the syntype dinosaur material consisting of "several vertebrae series, single vertebrae, a partial left pubis and limb elements". May be from the overlying Marnes de Villers, but the Marnes de Dives is much more productive and was better exposed when it was collected in the 18th century. | ||
Sauropoda | Indeterminate | Vaches Noires | Remains consist of a single vertebra, destroyed in 1944, may be from the overlying Marnes de Villers [5] | ||
Stegosauria | Indeterminate | Vaches Noires | Remains consist of 2 associated vertebra in hard limestone [6] | ||
Theropoda [1] | Indeterminate | Vaches Noires | Multiple taxa represented, including indeterminate megalosaurid material possibly referrable to the two named taxa alongside fragmentary remains of Allosauroids, [7] Including dentary and maxilla fragments. Other theropod remains include an associated braincase and frontal. [8] [9] Allosauroid material bears similarities to metriacanthosaurids. Material is of unclear stratigraphic provenance, and may belong to overlying cliff strata. [10] | ||
Crocodyliformes of the Marnes de Dives | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Presence | Description | Images | |
Tyrannoneustes [11] | T. lythrodectikos | Vaches Noires | A geosaurine metriorhynchid | ||
Metriorhynchus | M. geoffroyii | Vaches Noires | A metriorhynchine metriorhynchid | ||
Proexochokefalos | P. heberti | Villers-sur-Mer | A teleosaurid |
Fish of the Marnes de Dives [12] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Presence | Description | Images |
Leedsichthys [13] | L. problematicus | Vaches Noires | A giant pachycormiform fish, may be from overlying Marnes de Villiers | |
Trachymetopon | Indeterminate | A giant coelacanth | ||
cf. Hypsocormus | Indeterminate | A pachycormid fish | ||
Pycnodontiformes | Indeterminate | |||
Lepidotidae | Indeterminate | A ginglymodian | ||
Ichthyodectiformes | Indeterminate | A stem-group teleost |
Lexovisaurus is a genus of stegosaur from mid-to-Late Jurassic Europe, 165.7-164.7 mya. Fossils of limb bones and armor fragments have been found in middle to late Jurassic-aged strata of England and France.
Chebsaurus is a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous, cetiosaurid sauropod dinosaur, specifically a eusauropod. It lived in present-day Algeria, in the Callovian aged Aïssa Formation. The type species, C. algeriensis, was named in 2005 by Mahammed et al. and is the most complete Algerian sauropod known. It was around 8 to 9 metres long.
Metriacanthosauridae is an extinct family of allosauroid theropod dinosaurs that lived from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. When broken down into its Greek roots, it means "moderately-spined lizards". The family is split into two subgroups: Metriacanthosaurinae, which includes dinosaurs closely related to Metriacanthosaurus, and another group composed of the close relatives of Yangchuanosaurus. Metriacanthosaurids are considered carnosaurs, belonging to the Allosauroidea superfamily. The group includes species of large range in body size. Of their physical traits, most notable are their neural spines. The records of the group are mostly confined to Asia, though Metriacanthosaurus is known from Europe. Metriacanthosauridae is used as a senior synonym of Sinraptoridae.
Lapparentosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic. Its fossils were found in Madagascar. The type species is L. madagascariensis.
Piveteausaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur known from a partial skull discovered in the Middle Jurassic Marnes de Dives formation of Calvados, in northern France and lived about 164.7-161.2 million years ago. In 2012 Thomas Holtz gave a possible length of 11 meters.
Streptospondylus is a genus of tetanuran theropod dinosaur known from the Late Jurassic period of France, 161 million years ago. It was a medium-sized predator with an estimated length of 6 meters (19.5 ft) and a weight of 500 kg (1,100 lbs).
Poekilopleuron is a genus of tetanuran dinosaur, which lived during the middle Bathonian of the Jurassic, about 168 to 166 million years ago. The genus has been used under many different spelling variants, although only one, Poekilopleuron, is valid. The type species is P. bucklandii, named after William Buckland, and many junior synonyms of it have also been erected. Few material is currently known, as the holotype was destroyed in World War II, although many casts of the material still exist.
Steneosaurus is a dubious genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform from the Middle or Late Jurassic of France. The genus has been used as a wastebasket taxon for thalattosuchian fossils for over two centuries, and almost all known historical species of teleosauroid have been included within it at one point. The genus has remained a wastebasket, with numerous species still included under the label ‘Steneosaurus’, many of which are unrelated to each other.
The Calcaire de Caen or Calcaires de Caen Formation; French for Caen Limestone, is a geological formation in France. It dates back to the mid-Bathonian of the Jurassic. It was often quarried for building work and is referred to as Caen Stone.
The Argiles d'Octeville is a geological formation in Normandy, France. It dates back to the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic. It is equivalent to the Kimmeridge Clay in England and predominantly consists of claystone, with some limestone. It is well exposed in cliff section at Cap de la Hève
The Marnes de Bleville is a geological formation in France. It dates back to the Late Jurassic.
The Sao Khua Formation is a middle member of the Khorat Group. It consists of an alteration of pale red to yellowish-gray, fine to medium-grained sandstone and grayish-reddish brown siltstone and clay. Rare pale red to light gray conglomerates, containing carbonate pebbles, are also characteristic of this formation. This geological formation in Thailand dates to the Early Cretaceous age, specifically the Valanginian through Hauterivian stages.
Trachymetopon is an extinct genus of prehistoric coelacanth from the Jurassic of Europe. Fossils have been found in the Early Jurassic Posidonia Shale of Germany the Middle Jurassic Marnes de Dives of France, and probably the Late Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay of England. Only one species has been named, Trachymetopon liassicum, described by Henning in 1951 from an almost complete specimen found in the Lower Toarcian of Ohmden in Baden-Württemberg. Another specimen is known from the same site, and two older specimens come from the Sinemurian of Holzmaden. The holotype of this species is 1.6 metres in length. A giant specimen of an undetermined species of Trachymetopon found at the Middle Jurassic Falaises des Vaches Noires of Normandy. This specimen, composed of a 53 cm long palatoquadrate, belongs to an individual 4 metres (13 ft) in length. A basisphenoid found in a museum in Switzerland that likely originates from the same locaity probably belonged to an individual around 5 m (16 ft) long, making Trachymetopon the largest of all coelacanths alongside Mawsonia. A study published in 2015 revealed that this coelacanth belongs to the Mawsoniidae. Trachymetopon is one of the few known mawsoniids to have been exclusively marine, while most of the other members of the group have lived in fresh and brackish waters.
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Eugène Eudes-Deslongchamps was a French paleontologist and naturalist born in Caen, the son of paleontologist Jacques Amand Eudes-Deslongchamps (1794–1867). He died at Château Matthieu, Calvados.
The Marnes de Villers is a geologic formation in France. It preserves fossils dating back to the Late Jurassic period.
The El Mers Group is a geological group in the Middle Atlas of Morocco. It is subdivided into 3 formations named the El Mers 1, 2 and 3 Formations respectively. It is a marine deposit primarily consisting of marl, with gypsum present in the upper part of unit 3. and is the lateral equivalent of the terrestrial Guettioua Sandstone. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the group, most notably those of indeterminate theropods, the sauropod "Cetiosaurus" mogrebiensis, the stegosaur Adratiklit, the ankylosaur Spicomellus, the inchnofossil Selenichnites and an indeterminate teleosauroid.
Proexochokefalos is an extinct genus of machimosaurid teleosauroid from the Jurassic of France
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